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Saving Savile Row Coat

Last autumn I was asked to repair an old hunting coat for a friend. I don’t usually do repairs – especially if the items were not made by me, but it was a favour and I agreed. The coat arrived in the post a few days later and I must say it was only then that I realized the scope of the necessary repairs. After a few long phone conversations with the owner we agreed on what could be done. The jacket is vintage and very much damaged – the repairs were to prolong its life, but preserve as much as possible out of the original. Not an easy task. Still – the jacket was quality – after all, it turned out it was made in Savile Row, and the quality of the original workmanship showed. So worth a try…

Working on the jacket was not the most pleasant task ( I did have to air it for a few days first..), but it turned out to be very rewarding – not only because an old and tattered thing was given a new(ish) life, but also because taking bits apart revealed the secrets of the Savile Row tailors – so very educational!

First, the coat before:

the innards…

the hem was worn threadbare, falling apart. the lining of the skirt part of the jacket was not in a bad shape, salvageable.

Shoulder – lining in pieces, showing a nicely stitched padding

pockets – lining needed replacement

armpits….

buttonholes….

hem at the front

upper back of the jacket…

There was a lot to be done… and difficult to see where to start – but after putting all the jobs on the list, some sort of order started to emerge.

The list of things to be done:

* buttonholes reinforced

*pocket flaps relined and edges reinforced

* hem tidied ( trimmed and folded anew, taking 1 inch of the jacket length as agreed with the owner

*collar reinforced at the back

*repair the underarms 0 outside and inside lining

*lining – cut away damaged bits, patch up with similar fabric. preserve all original bits that can still work

and the work in progress..

buttonholes first

unpicking and trimming the hem

working on the front bottom part – revealing the layers of the original construction. most of it was handstitched

machine stitching securing some of the layers of linen lnterlining

working on the lining

And the results….

breast pocket looking a bit more presentable

lining patched, repaired and stitched back in place

pocket re-lined…

and edges tidied

and collar outside tidied and protected with cotton tape

altogether – not too bad for the first repair job! 🙂

It was a struggle, but i have learnt a lot ( i am not a tailor and haven’t got a clue about modern clothes tailoring and construction techniques, so that was definitely something new for me. Plus, I hope the owner will enjoy a few more seasons in her old trusted friend of a jacket:-)

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2 thoughts on “Saving Savile Row Coat”

You did a fantastic job, especially for a first job with no tailoring experience. I did a similar job years ago before I had any tailoring classes. Looking back, I realize how daunting it was but, hey, back then, I had no clue. Thanks for bringing back fun memories and a really big thank you for posting such wonderful photos. I still learn things from your blog. You be really proud of yourself now, you deserve it!

That is a wonderful repair job, especially since it was the first time for you! I always love to see old clothes getting a new life, I hate to think of people throwing out amazing items because of some wear and tear!